On the 4th of July two years ago, when Kevin Durant announced his intention to sign with the Warriors, we knew there would be nights like this. Nights when the Splash Brothers were struggling (3-for-15 combined on threes) and the Warriors were having a hard time putting points on the board.

Two years ago, the Dubs would have lost this game. But last night KD calmly went about his business, scoring 43 points to go with 13 rebounds and 7 assists. Again and again throughout the night he jabbed daggers in, and then with 49 seconds left, he finally hit the heart:

We were gathered around the TV at my dad’s house in Overland Park, KS, drinking a little wine and rooting, to be honest, somewhat lethargically; the games start late in this time zone, and there was some vacation-related fatigue going on. Fortunately Kevin had enough energy to carry the whole Dub Nation on his back, bringing us to within one game of the finish line.

Game 4 is Friday night, and the Warriors will either sweep the series or allow it to come back to Oakland for one more game. My sense from last night was that the W’s are just plain tired of playing the Cavs and ready to get this thing over with. But we shall see.